Serial rapists ‘stay free because of failures by police and prosecutors’

Serial rapists may be escaping justice because of a raft of failures by police and prosecutors, a damning report claims.

Their attacks go unrecorded because as many as three in ten reported rapes are written off as if no crime ever took place, the investigation reveals.

Growing numbers of women have taken part in recent anti-rape protests, known as ‘Slut Walks’ (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Chances to identify links between offences are also being missed through inadequate use of DNA techniques.

And rape investigations are being hindered because police and prosecutors fail to check the criminal records of foreigners, the report says.

Holly Dustin, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said: âIt is clear that we need a revolution in our approach to rape.Â For the police this means starting from the basic principle of believing the complainant and supporting her through the process.â

The failings are raised in a report by the police inspectorate and Crown Prosecution service.

Figures showed almost 12 per cent of rape cases in 2010 ended with police ruling no crime had been committed compared with just three per cent of GBH cases.

In Kent, the figure was 30 per cent although it was just 2.4 per cent in Gloucestershire.

More than one in ten of these decisions were wrong, according to an analysis of at least 100 such âno crimesâ, the report says.

However, only three out of 43 police forces in England and Wales are using up-to-date profiles to draw together information on sex attacks in their areas.

Interpol record checks on rapes abroad âwere not regularly conductedâ, even though they can identify a pattern of offending.

The report calls for police and prosecutors to make changes to âmake a real difference in catching and convicting repeat and serial rapistsâ.

Policing minister Nick Herbert said: âWhile the police and CPS response to rape has improved in recent years, there is clearly more to do to ensure a consistently high standard.â